Actually, we were the only ones surprised by the party, and it wasn't in our honor, so in the grand scheme of things the surprise only mattered to us.

On Saturday we went to visit our friends, Jason and Cecy, who live in one of the outlying colonias. They live far enough out, and the route is complicated enough, that Jason called us when he got off work so we could follow him to his home. Its a good thing that we did, because I'm not sure I could have followed the best directions and gotten there. We took the GPS so we could find our way back out.

We arrived at a modest, well kept house in a typical Mexican neighborhood. Kids were playing in the gravel street and laughing. People in nearby shops and houses stopped to look at us and watch as we went into the house.

Jason and Cecy invited us into their bright and welcoming kitchen. Cecy gestured for us to sit down and then they both went about putting away the vast quantities of beer we had brought. Cecy made a huge bowl of the best ceviche I have ever had. We sat around talking, and drinking beer, and eating pounds of ceviche on tostadas.

Cecy and I experience extreme frustration when trying to communicate. She is Mexican and speaks Spanish; I am American and speak English. She is learning English; I am learning Spanish. We can talk very basically with each other, and can understand a lot when trying to tell a more complicated story, but often, we have to interrupt Jason and Chuck and get Jason to translate for us. That can also have its problems, because he does not yet have full command of the Spanish language. It has caused me to redouble my efforts at Spanish. Cecy is such a wonderful, strong, beautiful person who exudes such joy, that I am desperate to know her better.

After we had been there long enough to polish off the first case on beer (oh my!), Cecy's kids came in with a beautifully wrapped gift. The gift was for a local girl whose quinceañera was that evening. The kids really wanted to go to the party. Jason and Cecy asked us if we wanted to go.

We'd heard of quinceañeras before. They are a VERY big deal. They usually involve a big party on the level of a modern Bat Mitzvah or a Debutante Ball. It marks a girl's 15th birthday and her first steps into womanhood.

We were dressed for a Saturday afternoon at our friends' house, not an important party, but we sure did want to go. Cecy kept assuring us it would be fine, but we really hesitated. Jason saw our discomfort, and promised to go to the party in his shorts and shirt as well. Many of the neighborhood kids wanted to go and there wasn't enough room in Jason's car, so that was the clincher - we would go and take a load of kids with us.

All the kids had showers and got dressed. Cecy changed clothes and did her hair and makeup. There was a lot of “does this belt go with this?” and “do I look okay?” from the kids. Finally, everyone was scrubbed, dressed, and ready to go. We piled into the cars and drove into town.

We arrived at the Salon Xanadu, a place that exists for just this type of party. It is mostly a large, open-air courtyard surrounded by a high wall. There is a kitchen facility and bathrooms that have roofs. There was security at the door. When we entered, they asked up where we parked, so they could keep an eye on our car. There are very few parking lots in Mazatlan, so we had parked on the street just like everybody else. It was nice to know that the truck would be there, intact, when we came back out.

We felt very self conscious when we walked in. All the guests were beautifully dressed and we were wearing shorts. But no one even raised an eyebrow. We were welcomed warmly by the family and everyone else there. I was horrified to discover that we were being escorted to a table right up front. Thankfully, there were more people in our party than would fit at the table, so we left the kids at that one and went to sit in the back.

As soon as we sat down, our waiter brought us cold, bottled Pacifico and marlin pate. The pate was delicious. We have since gone to buy some to keep as a snack at home. The beer kept coming. Our waiter had an eagle eye, and we never had an empty bottle. Chuck eventually had to grab a bottle of grapefruit soda from a nearby table to have something else to drink.

Soon the quinceañera made an appearance (the word quinceañera refers to both the event and the birthday girl). She was dressed in a beautiful, orange, evening gown. She wore a tiara to signify that she was a princess in God's eyes that night. Her family and escorts wore chartreuse. The men had black suits with chartreuse shirts, while the women wore chartreuse gowns.

The tables were covered with white linens, and the chairs were draped in white and tied with wide bands of orange fabric that matched the quinceañera's dress. When we were seated, Cecy and I were each brought a handmade fan to help keep ourselves cool (orange, of course). The napkin holder on the table and bowls had both been hand decorated as well. There were homemade centerpieces on each table that involved lots of orange glitter. All of these things were ours to take home as party favors (and we did).

There was a 10 piece band that played most the night, and a DJ that took over when he band was on break or when some hip hop was needed for some dances. The band played for a special Father/Daughter dance where she received her first pair of high heels. Then a chair with a doll was brought out. The doll was dressed just like the quinceañera. Sweet music played, and a little girl (also in orange) came out and danced with the doll and replaced it in the chair. Then the quinceañera came out and danced with the doll and kept it. That doll is her "última muñeca", the last doll she will ever receive since she is now a young woman. After that, the quinceañera danced several spectacular choroegraphed dances with her escorts.

It turns out all of her escorts were part of a dance team. I think they were all chosen specifically because they were handsome, could dance well, and would make the quinceañera look good. At one point, the escorts all changed clothes and the bottom half of her skirt was removed for a more athletic number. When the dance was over, everyone changed back to formal attire.

After the choreographed numbers were over, we were served a full dinner of barbacoa, beans, tortillas , and macaroni salad. It was delicious. And the beer kept coming. The father stayed on top of everything to make sure the guests were taken care of and basically fretted a lot.

After dinner, the dance floor was opened up and the party really started. People danced and mingled. Many came by our table to say hello. It was such a wonderful party that I forgot to be embarrassed about my clothes.

I took some pictures [4] while we were there, which can be seen in the gallery [5].